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Thailand
Travel Guide gives you a complete picture of the
Culture of Thailand. The culture in this unique country
is heavily influenced by Buddhism. Some other influences
are from Hinduism, conflict and trade with Southeast
Asian neighbors such as Laos,
Cambodia
and Myanmar
and continuous immigration of the Chinese.
Thailand Culture centers largely around Buddhism.
The people in this country have great regard and respect
for seniority, whether in terms of age, status or wealth.
However, monks are given a VIP treatment. Monks grab
all the attention in Thailand.
Thailand Cultural Norms also refer to a different fact.
In Thailand seniority has different types of connotations.
Here, younger people respect elders, the poor look up
to the rich and common citizens become subservient to
politicians and high ranking military personnels. Older
people may address the younger as nong and the youngsters
address the older as pii.
Culture in Thailand involves certain unwritten obligations.
As for example, a manager dining
with his or her staff will automatically pay the bill
irrespective of the ages of the persons present. In
Thailand you will witness that foreigners are considered
rich and therefore asked to pay higher prices than locals.
Due to this fact the two tiered pricing system is seen
at many of the tourist
attractions.
Culture of Thailand includes the way of greeting also.
In this country, the traditional greeting is called
the wai. People greet each other by pressing the fingers
and palms together at chest level and slightly bowing
the head. The wai serves many other functions like saying
hello, showing respect to a senior and asking forgiveness.
A wai is always returned until and unless it is from
a child.
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